Lewis Hamilton will start the Brazilian GP on pole position after narrowly edging out Mercedes team-mate and title rival Nico Rosberg by a tenth of a second in qualifying. That was a very important lap in this championship, declared Sky F1s Martin Brundle after Hamilton secured his eleventh pole of t

Lewis Hamilton will start the Brazilian GP on pole position after narrowly edging out Mercedes team-mate and title rival Nico Rosberg by a tenth of a second in qualifying. That was a very important lap in this championship, declared Sky F1s Martin Brundle after Hamilton secured his eleventh pole of the year in a tense finale. Nicos been getting quicker and quicker, but I generally had it covered throughout the weekend, said Hamilton. This is the best I could have hoped for coming to Brazil. Its only my second pole here, its always a track Ive struggled at, so Im really really happy to be up at the front.19 points clear in the standings, Rosberg will secure the title if he wins Sundays race, live on Sky Sports F1 from 4pm. As weve seen this year, pole isnt always the guy that wins the race, noted the German. But Sundays race may prove far from plain sailing with rain forecast. Paul di Resta reviews how Lewis Hamilton managed to pip teammate Nico Rosberg to pole position for the Brazilian GP. While the margins have been tight around one of the shortest circuits on the calendar, an on-form Hamilton has held a consistent advantage over his team-mate throughout the weekend. Mercedes, though, have been in a class of their own with the two Silver Arrows over half a second clear of the rest. Fastest in two of the practice sessions, Hamilton finished qualifying with top spot for every segment, but Rosberg ran him particularly close in the final exchanges as he bettered Hamiltons time through the first sector of their last laps before Hamilton edged ahead again.I dont remember every single qualifying session weve had, but I felt quite comfortable in qualifying, as I have done all weekend to be honest, said Hamilton. Bernie Ecclestone gives his views on the new President of the USA Donald Trump. Watch the full interview this weekend live on Sky F1 Kimi Raikkonen, maintaining his recent revival, was third for Ferrari ahead of Max Verstappens Red Bull. Raikkonen has now drawn level with Sebastian Vettel in the pairs head-to-head qualifying contest for the year.Toto Wolff rang Jos Verstappen over MaxRomain Grosjean also impressed, reaching seventh for Haas ahead of the two Force Indias, while the ever-defiant Fernando Alonso rounded off the top ten. But it was a particularly poor afternoon for the two Brazilians in the field. While Felipe Nasr was relegated to the last spot on the grid in his Sauber, Felipe Massa, making his final appearance at Interlagos, was just 13th as neither Williams driver reached the top ten.In what could be the penultimate qualifying session of his Formula 1 career, Jenson Button fell at the first hurdle in his mishandling McLaren but there was further encouragement for the improving Jolyon Palmer in the week when it was announced he would be staying at Renault for 2017 as he out-qualified Haas-bound team-mate Kevin Magnussen for the sixth time in the last eleven events. Brazilian GP Qualifying Timesheet1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 1:10.7362. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes, + 0.1023. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari + 0.6684. Max Verstappen, Red Bull + 0.7495. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, + 0.7596.Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull, + 0.8047. Romain Grosjean, Haas, + 1.2018. Nico Hulkenberg, Force India, + 1.3689. Sergio Perez, Force India, + 1.42910. Fernando Alonso, McLaren, + 1.530Qualifying Two11. Valtteri Bottas, Williams, 1:12.43012. Esteban Gutierrez, Haas, 1:12.43113. Felipe Massa, Williams, 1:12.52114. Daniil Kvyat, Toro Rosso, 1:12.72615. Carlos Sainz, Toro Rosso, 1:12.92016. Jolyon Palmer, Renault, 1:13.258Qualifying One17. Jenson Button, McLaren, 1:13.27618. Kevin Magnussen, Renault, 1:13.41019. Pascal Wehrlein, Manor, 1:13.42720. Esteban Ocon, Manor, 1:13.43221. Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, 1:13.62322. Felipe Nasr, Sauber, 1:13.681Dont miss the Brazilian GP on Sunday evening. The race is live at 4pm on Sky Sports F1; Watch with a NOW TV day pass - £6.99, no contract Also See: Dennis loses McLaren court case Whens the Brazilian GP on Sky F1? Get a Sky Sports weekend pass The Formula 1 Gossip column Davante Adams Super Bowl Jersey . Brazilian national coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has confirmed that the veteran goalkeeper is set to join Toronto on loan, saying it will help him be ready for the World Cup. Jimmy Graham Super Bowl Jersey . -- Stanfords Kevin Danser knelt on one knee and hardly moved on the sideline as Michigan State celebrated its Rose Bowl victory and his Cardinal teammates made their way to the locker room. http://www.packersonlineteamstore.com/customized.html .C. -- After a listless first half, the Washington Wizards used a big third quarter run to beat the Charlotte Bobcats Bradley Beal scored 21 points and the Wizards used a 17-0 run in the third quarter to take control of what had been a close game and beat the Bobcats 97-83 on Tuesday night. Ray Nitschke Super Bowl Jersey . Louis. To which I would say two things: 1. Where there is smoke, there is or perhaps has been a little fire. Or, in other words, the two teams would appear to have at least spoken. And spoken is defined as one calling the other to inquire, no more, no less. Marcedes Lewis Super Bowl Jersey . -- Ty Montgomery had 290 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns, and fifth-ranked Stanford held on to beat No. The conversation took place a few weeks ago. Kristaps Porzingis sent a text.?Karl-Anthony Towns?received it. The directive was clear.I said to him, This is a big year for us. We have to start taking over and taking that next step, Porzingis recalled in an interview with ESPN.And Towns reply?Exactly. Lets do our thing. Lets have a good season, is how Porzingis remembers it.This text connection between two budding superstars wasnt out of the blue. Towns and Porzingis contact each other fairly regularly. Sometimes, one will reach out after the other has a big game. Other times, theyll chat about the league in general.Were real good friends, Towns said. We just really enjoy each others presence, and the communication we have is always a lot of fun.And that text from Porzingis to Towns about starting to take over the league? It seems as if that process is already underway.Entering last season, there were 22 rookies in the 3-point era (since 1979-80) who were 7-footers with 100 blocks, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Those 22 rookies made a total of five 3-pointers.Enter Towns and Porzingis, big men with an imposing inside presence combined with the range of a guard.Towns and Porzingis, and their 272 combined blocks in 2015-16, also hit 111 3s last season -- 106 more than the other group of 7-foot shot-blocking rookies.And outside shooting has continued to be a weapon for both in Year 2.Porzingis 3-point shooting percentage has increased from 35 percent as a rookie to 40 percent thus far this season. Towns percentage has spiked 3 percent from last season to this one, and hes attempting 2.5 more 3-point attempts per game. Not surprisingly, both Towns and Porzingis per-game scoring has increased this season.Maybe thats why Porzingis doesnt mince words when asked about the impact he and Towns can have on the NBA.We are two big men that can kind of change the game, Porzingis said.The Towns-Porzingis friendship began in June 2015, as both were in New York preparing for the draft. Porzingis, who grew up in Latvia and played professionally in Spain, didnt know many of the other draftees.While Porzingis introduced himself at one of the many pre-draft events in the city, he and Towns quickly hit it off.From the beginning, he was a nice guy. Hes like an outgoing type of person, easy to talk to, Porzingis said of Towns, the reigning Rookie of the Year.And we kind of clicked from the beginning.?The feeling was mutual.When youre in part of the same draft class, you always have a certain connection that not many other people can have with each other, Towns said.Porzingis said he asked Towns thousands of questions during the draft and the subsequent rookie symposium, including queries about life in the United States, playing big-time college basketball and about growing up near New York City. Towns asked similar questions about growing up in Latvia and playing in Europe.We exchanged numbers, Porzingis saaid, and weve been talking ever since.ddddddddddddWe said we want to have this rivalry for the next 15 years, hopefully. So its nice to have a guy like that who is going through the journey at the same time.Any friendly words between the two might be put on hold this week, as Porzingis Knicks head to Minnesota to play Towns and the Timberwolves on Wednesday and the two teams return to New York to play at Madison Square Garden on Friday.Were both competitive, were trying to prove who is better and kind of compete against each other; thats a good thing, Porzingis said.Were trying to do better for our teams, obviously, but at the same time, its kind of a little bit of that one-on-one thing between us. So I think it will be fun.Its also a rare event when two young 7-footers who play such prominent roles face off.Since the NBA-ABA merger, more than 100 7-footers have played at least 350 minutes in their rookie seasons. Only five of them posted higher usage rates?-- a measure of how many possessions end on a player shooting, getting to the free throw line or turning it over -- than Towns and Porzingis, according to ESPN Stats & Info.All five of those big men are in the Hall of Fame.Its obviously premature to pencil either Towns or Porzingis into Springfield, Massachusetts. But Porzingis brings up an interesting point when talking about how he and Towns can change the game.He cites the recent trend of teams playing small lineups late in games to maximize spacing on the floor, thereby leaving 7-footers on the bench. Porzingis says he believes he and Towns can neutralize that.I think were the type of big men that can be [on the court] late in games, he said. We can be the guys that, if they put a small lineup [on the floor], we can take advantage of that inside and the other team has to make adjustments and put a bigger guy on us.Our ability to stretch the floor, those kinds of things can really affect the game.?Porzingis and Towns are only 21 years old, so its way too early to project with any accuracy how theyll impact the rest of the NBA. Both players are still in their NBA infancy.But by all accounts, Porzingis and Towns each work doggedly to reach their potential. And that shared work ethic might bring them to the same gym this summer. Porzingis says he hopes to work out with Towns in the offseason, possibly playing a few games of one-on-one against the No. 1 pick in his draft class. I think that would be good for both of us, Porzingis said.Towns seems open to the idea.Im always in New Jersey, so I think it would be very easy for me to get to New York, he said.They can figure out the details later, but for now, a pair of 5-on-5 showdowns between the Knicks and Wolves will have to do.Information from ESPNs Ethan Sherwood Strauss and Micah Adams was used in this story. ' ' '